John Jackson began his training in meditation when he was 19, practicing a variety of methods from pranayama to Tibetan dzogchen. John helped establish Ligmincha Institute beginning in 1992, organizing most retreats, editing practice materials, and serving on its board of directors until 1997. At the request of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in 2001, he helped establish the Chamma Ling Retreat Center of Crestone, a place of solitary retreat in the remote Sangre de Christo mountains of Colorado, and currently serves as a director of that center.

John Jackson

John Jackson began his training in meditation when he was 19, practicing a variety of methods from pranayama to Tibetan dzogchen. During his studies and explorations he has traveled on pilgrimages around the world and spent lengthy periods of time in retreat in Triten Norbutse and Menri monasteries in Nepal and India. Over the past 19 years John has developed close relationships with and received private instruction from His Holiness Lungtog Tenpai Nyima and Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak, the two most senior teachers of the Bön lineage, and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, the most senior Bön master in the West. He has been teaching meditation courses at Ligmincha Institute and related centers since 2001, including Tibetan Dream Yoga, the Nine Ways of Bön, Tsa-Lung, the 5 Warrior Syllables, and Integrating Meditation with Daily Life.. He is currently working with Tenzin Rinpoche to develop a comprehensive series of online meditation courses.

He has been a professor at the University of Virginia since 1990 and regularly teaches medical student classes and faculty development workshops. His interests include effective teaching methods, curriculum design, and online learning. He has received the Dean’s Teaching Award, is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Educators, and regularly presents the results of his team’s educational research in professional journals and at conferences throughout the United States and Europe.

John helped establish Ligmincha Institute beginning in 1992, organizing most retreats, editing practice materials, and serving on its board of directors until 1997. At the request of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in 2001, he helped establish the Chamma Ling Retreat Center of Crestone, a place of solitary retreat in the remote Sangre de Christo mountains of Colorado, and currently serves as a director of that center.

He lives with his wife Cindy and son Barun near Charlottesville, Virginia, where he enjoys gardening, raising llamas, and spending time in solitude in the mountains.